On June 28th, 2015, more than six hundred yogis from around the country joined us for the first live Warriors For Healing event at Yoga Journal LIVE! in San Diego. The inspirational 90-minute practice celebrated the service of veterans and raised awareness for the potential of helping warriors to heal from anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress (PTS) through the healing science of yoga. The event was coordinated through Warriors For Healing, a foundation launched by teacher Bhava Ram that’s supported through the fiscal sponsorship of Give Back Yoga.

Welcoming dozens of veterans who came to practice alongside the yoga community, Mayor Casey Tanaka proclaimed it “Warriors for Healing Day” in the City of Coronado, where the Yoga Journal conference was held. Among those in attendance was Give Back Yoga’s Veterans’ Outreach Coordinator Anthony Scaletta, the leader of our Warriors For Healing crowdfunding campaign. With Anthony’s help, Give Back Yoga raised more than $8,250 to support our mission of yoga outreach to veterans.

We owe a debt a gratitude to each partner and community member who supported the Warrior For Healing event and crowdfunding campaign. With your help, we connected with many veterans who are benefitting from yoga, while inspiring a growing number of yogis to join us in practicing selfless service. View some of their stories on our Warriors For Healing video playlist.

Give Back Yoga is honored to announce a partnership with Warriors for Healing, a new foundation created by former NBC News war correspondent Bhava Ram to bring the healing power of yoga to veterans nationwide.

Bhava was on the front lines of conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, covered drug wars in South America, social upheaval in Central America, apartheid in Africa, and reported from several of the largest refugee crises of our times. A broken back and failed surgery ended his career. Confined to a body brace and unable to sit up to eat a meal, Bhava fell into the abyss of prescription medications, depression and PTSD. Then came stage four cancer from exposure to depleted uranium in the Gulf War and the prognosis that survival was impossible. Literally on the brink of death, Bhava embraced mind/body medicine and the deeper practices of Yoga and its sister science, Ayurveda. Through this process, slowly and often painfully, he healed himself physically and emotionally. He now devotes his life to helping others reclaim their inherent power of self-healing, find their authentic voices, and manifest their fullest potential. Watch Bhava’s story in a video from the Chopra Center’s Weekend Within.

To help us create a groundswell of support for this mission, we invite you to like the Warriors for Healing Facebook page and share your story of how yoga has helped you or benefitted a veteran that you know and love. Then, let your friends know — help us to spread the word and expand awareness of the healing powers of yoga, and the movement to give back to those who have given so much.

All donors or teams who raise $250 or more will be reserved a mat space at the Warriors for Healing live event in San Diego in June 2015. If you can’t join us in person, you can choose to donate this space to a veterans’ scholarship fund, and share your energy by tuning in to a live stream of the event.

https://givebackyoga.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Bhava-Ram-Brad-Willis.png698976chttps://givebackyoga.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-27-at-9.01.44-AM-300x91.pngc2015-01-07 20:13:512015-04-23 20:30:07Warriors for Healing: Join the Movement to Support Yoga For Veterans

Executive Director Rob Schware talks with yoga teacher and attorney Roopa Singh for The Huffington Post Blog to find out how she is helping South Asian-Americans to reclaim their roles as stewards of the yoga tradition.

“I led a study on the past two years’ issues of Yoga Journal, and it turns out there was never a South Asian person on the cover, and there has been a negligible South Asian authorship presence. The magazine is generally based on South Asian cultural history and theological property, yet this knowledge is primarily “authored,” “embodied,” and modeled by Western women…true integration means equal representation and better mindfulness for all, and I imagine that for yoga.”

Click here to read more of Roopa’s thoughts on growing up as a first generation Indian-American, and how a dialogue with South Asian-Americans could benefit the western yoga industry.

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Experience the stress-relieving practice of Yoga Nidra with a guided meditation led by yoga masters Patty Townsend and Rod Stryker. When you purchase “Deep Yogic Relaxation: Awakening to Peace Within” from our online store, you’re helping us to share the gift of yoga with the world…one person at a time.